Naoko Asai
Name: Naoko Asai Alias: Northstar Race: Britannian Birthday: 30th April Age: 25 Hobbies: Naoko enjoys long walks in the countryside, and is a proficient horse rider. She will often read instead of talk, but will listen in on conversation. She does like to spend time training and sparring with her sword. Powers/Abilities: Naoko has a natural talent for piloting knightmares, and her own frame, the Helios, was developed with her personal combat preferences in mind. That is to say, it is built for speed and maneuverability, favoring Naoko’s preferred tactic of outmaneuvering her opponents before eliminating them without expending valuable ammunition or time. She is also a very skilled swordswoman, having been trained in the traditional fashion during her time in a knightly order. She’ll regularly spar with the other Knights of the Round. She also has the minor power of being able to form a source of blinding light from her hands, strong enough to burn the human retina in a matter of moments if she chooses to make it that strong. Strengths: Her calm, cool and collected nature when fighting, coupled with her prodigious skill make her a deadly warrior, both in and out of her knightmare. She doesn’t anger easily, and knows how to direct that anger when needed as opposed to simply losing her temper. She is intelligent, and also a gifted speaker with a keen wit, though she rarely ever displays the latter talent. Weaknesses: She has become rather quiet, and will not stand up to her superiors unless pushed to the very edge of her tolerance. Sometimes she can be too cautious, especially socially. Despite becoming somewhat scared of Renji, she is still his knight, and is sworn to protect him against all threats, even to the detriment of everything else. Rank: Warrior/Knight of Ten Character Info: Naoko Asai is a highly skilled warrior who hails from Tintagel, Britannia’s second city. The daughter of a court noble and a high-ranking diplomat, Naoko didn’t want for much in her childhood, indeed, she lived a rather idyllic life on her father’s secluded country home on the outskirts of the city. Her time in Tintagel is often cited as the reason for her calm nature, and her balanced views of what it means to be a Britannian. She became a knight errant at the age of 14, and entered into the City’s own knightly order, the Order of the Sun. While in the order she received traditional military training, and learned to pilot a knightmare frame. At the age of 18 she became a full knight of the order, and entered her first combat during the campaign to subdue area 14. She was marked out on the battlefield for leading her unit to the successful completion of their mission in the face of overwhelming odds, as well as displaying extraordinary piloting skill for someone of her age. It was this that caught the attention of the Britannian court, and following a famous victory on the battlefield and another in a tournament, Naoko was named as the new Knight of Ten. She received a commendation from the Emperor, and a new custom Knightmare, the Helios. Soon afterwards, she was proud to be made personal knight to the charismatic First Prince Renji El Britannia. Naoko is calm and collected when in combat, eliminating her targets with the minimum of deviation or wasted ammunition. She rarely panics, and has never suffered from shell shock or battle sickness, even as a raw recruit. Her loyalty to Britannia has never, as of yet, been called into question. Even if she disagrees with some of the treatment of numbers within the empire, she works on the principle that it is better to change from within than oppose from without. However, Naoko has changed since becoming Renji’s knight as she has observed the Prince and his behaviour. Whereas the Naoko of old was outspoken and vivacious, she has become quieter and more cautious over time. She is no longer in awe of her Lord, but rather fears him, and obeys his orders out of both an unshakable sense of duty and the naïve hope that he really is acting with Britannia’s best interests at heart. Essentially, Naoko is a very skilled knight who does her job to the Empire and to her Lord as best she can, yet does so out of duty. Deep down she longs for a different Britannia, but the cynical voice of reality shouts louder in her head, and most of the time she is content to let things remain as they are. NPC: No KNIGHTMARE COMING SOON!